Meting Out Justice For Underage Drinkers

September 07, 1992

Justice may yet be served up to underage drinkers. In Connecticut, police now have the undisputed authority to decide whether to arrest barhoppers under the legal drinking age of 21. Cheers. It will be up to courts to prosecute those transgressors.

For years, barkeepers, not their young customers, were the ones prosecuted when underage drinkers were caught in raids -- even when these drinkers had used fake identification. Police officers said liquor agents didn't want young drinkers arrested because the drinkers would then refuse to testify against bar owners at license hearings, since that meant incriminating themselves.

The barkeepers rightly protested. One, Francis Alaimo of Memories Cafe in Enfield, appealed a state Liquor Control Commission ruling against him for serving two underage women who had presented him with IDs he didn't know were fake. Last week, the state Liquor Control Commission and the Hartford County state's attorney reversed an irresponsible practice of not arresting underage drinkers. The commission said the decision on making arrests lies solely with police officers, not with liquor agents, who would rather use the underage drinkers against the bar owners than see them in court.

The policy change is a first step toward assigning blame fairly. Teenagers have become adept at creating false identification to get into bars.

The next step is enforcing the law. Courts must follow through on cases against underage drinkers. Nearly two out of every three cases involving underage-drinking arrests are dismissed. Lawmakers also must revive legislation that would suspend the driving licenses of minors caught using false IDs.

Bar owners, of course, must still be held to the duty of making sure customers are of legal age. But holding young customers responsible, too, will only help bar owners keep to their legal obligations